Who Else Remembers Grandmaster Allen Steen, The Father Of Texas ‘Blood And Guts’ Taekwondo Karate?
Just a week ago I spent time with friends in the Lone Star State.
For those of you not familiar with the term, I’m talking about Texas.
What comes to mind for a lot of people when referring to Texas might be cowboys, longhorns, oil, football (American, of course!), BBQ, …..
I have to admit that I thought of some of that, too.
But visiting Dallas this time somehow got me thinking of the first American to receive his Black Belt from the founder of Taekwondo in the U.S., Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, who had come to Austin, Texas, way back in the late 50s to pursue his college studies. The year was 1957 to be exact.
In 1959, Allen Steen started his karate training under Jhoon Rhee and just 3 years later as brown belt he opened up the first storefront dojo in Dallas.
In 1962, he was promoted and became Jhoon Rhee’s first American Black Belt.
What followed, is nothing short of shock and awe in Texas, the U.S. Southwest and beyond.
Grandmaster Allen Steen is remembered for creating a very aggressive fighting style that was very rough and tough. We’re talking about bare knuckle fighting competition, years before Jhoon Rhee launched his Safe-T protective gear.
In 1966, Allen Steen left a path of destruction at Ed Parker’s International Karate Championships in Long Beach, California, by beating even Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris both on the same day.
I found a video clip of his fight against Chuck Norris that I would like to share with you at the bottom of this post. Hope you like it.
Besides being an extremely successful competitor himself, Allen Steen trained together with his first Black Belt student J. Pat Burleson and surrounded himself with other very dedicated students who went on to become champions in their own right.
Some of the names that I still remember from devouring martial arts magazines way back in the day are Skipper Mullins, Fred Wren, Demetrius “The Greek” Havanas, Roy Kurban, just to list a few.
Allen Steen further impacted American and Texas Karate by opening countless dojos and promoting tournaments of which one has truly stood out over the years.
Originally known as the Southwest Karate Championships, the tournament name was later changed to the United States Karate Championships and became THE karate tournament on the second weekend in February.
I will add that Allen Steen handed over the karate business affairs to his trusted aides and friends years ago to move on to other business ventures, but his impact is felt even today.
I also stumbled across something that might interest you which is what it took to get a Black Belt from Grandmaster Allen Steen:
He expected technical perfection with a “No Quit” attitude.
After a grueling performance of basic techniques, katas and heavy warm-up fights, the student had to go up against one tough Black Belt fighter after another. Many of these guys were accomplished National Champions!
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse: You were then challenged by 2, then 4, and finally even 8 fighters, all at the same time.
But we did say “No Quit” attitude, right?!
And even if one survived the “punishment”, Allen Steen would only put his signature on the certificate if one met his technical standards.
Let that sink in for a while.
Anyway, here’s the clip I promised. Enjoy!
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14 Comments to Who Else Remembers Grandmaster Allen Steen, The Father Of Texas ‘Blood And Guts’ Taekwondo Karate?
Nice find! I never heard of Steen.
TigerJune 6, 2010
Glad you liked it, Bob.
Allen Steen sure left his mark on the martial arts community.
I got some more cool posts lined up.
Thanks for writing in.
[...] My second find comes from the Martial Arts Reporter. Before reading his post I had never heard of Allen Steen. I am, however, very aware of Prime Chuck [...]
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
TigerJune 26, 2010
Thanks fr writing in.
Glad you like the blog.
Come back anytime. Even if it’s 3 in morning.
TigerJune 29, 2010
Thank you for writing in.
Please come back anytime even if it’s 3 in the morning.
found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
TigerJuly 2, 2010
I’m glad you found us and like the site.
Come back again soon.
Remember Mr. Steen? I was there. He was my teacher, along with some of his best black belts like James Toney, Fred Wren, Art Heller, and Richard Jenkins. The Black Belt tests were exactly like described above, with a lot of other fghts with lower ranking belts for a “warm up”. I watched James Toney test three months before I did and I nearly didn’t show up for my own test remembering what I had seen. A lot of guys never showed up for their tests back then. Mr. Steen and his black belts were all demanding, but they also produced the best of the best.
TigerJuly 19, 2010
Wow! That’s amazing.
Very impressive indeed.
I got the goose bumps reading your comment.
Thank you very much for writing in.
You are more than welcome to share your experiences here to inspire others.
Thanks for your inspiration and believe me when I say, “I am in awe, Sensei.”
ElleApril 7, 2011
Thanks so much for the link! Mr. Wren was my instructor’s instructor and sold his St. Louis school to him. Mr. Amanat has described going to Texas with Mr. Wren to test before Mr. Steen. Not exactly “Olympic” style tae kwon do!
I trained under Allen Steen’s Asst. Art Heller in Dallas in the late 60′s. I went on to be promoted under Jack Motley in Pensacola, Fla. Jack and I ran into Art at quite a few tournaments as we travelled the southeast. Allen Steen, Art Heller Fred Wren were the real tough guys of early US Karate. Aldis Cook Navarre, Fla.
TigerJuly 16, 2011
Thanks for writing in.
Sounds like Art Heller and Fred Wren deserve to be featured here.
Thanks again.
Gregory WilkinsonOctober 11, 2011
I trained under Master teacher Fred Wren in St Louis in 1969 receiving my black belt from him, it was at that time the most special day of my life, I was then and am more now so proud of my black belt from Mr Wren he taught me confidence and strength. I know my Martial Arts roots were the best being under such a great Martial Arts Tree. Grand Masters Steen Rhee and Wren were Gods to me. I moved to Los Angeles to train with Joe Lewis, be came one of his students and sparing partners, a pro fighter won championships and fought around the world but never forgot where I came from and who gave me my start, my pride, and toughness thank you all,I will try to live up to the standards you set for me I promise to teach my students what you taught me and help them understand who all of you were long live “Blood and Guts Tae kwon do Texas style” and God bless Joe Lewis and give him Strength and heal him so he can teach us to be to be both fighters and kind and compassionate Thanks Greg Wilkinson
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June 5, 2010